First of all, before the actual update I want to emphasize that this is not about an anti-american comment. I am not fostering hate for north the USA. I am commenting on an isolate fact and its consequences. (this is a very important comment in these days of stereotyping and misunderstandings...)

So, after the USA immigration started to take pictures and scan digitals of visitors from a list of countries (Brasil included) when arriving to the US, the brasilian government, based on the principle of reciprocity, started doing the same thing to USA citizens arriving in Brasil.

Sincerelly I thought this was really cool. I know, 'an eye for an eye makes the world go blind', but what this USA procedure means is that they are putting all people entering the country under the same level, the same assumption. Not to mention privacy issues.

Overall, I never belived in showing respect because of rank, family ties, echonomic dominance or anything. I only respect the ones who treat me with respect.

Then today I read in a Brasilian online newspaper a statement by the USA EMbassy stating that they are really sorry about the way Brasil is treating the american visitors...

!!! But they are not sorry about the way they are treating all those countries' visitors in their black list?

They also stated that the measure undertaken by USA Immigration is not discriminating Brasilians and is designed to a group of 150 countries, while the Brasilian action discriminates only USA Citizens.

Right. It's ok to discriminate a country if its goruped among others, is that the message? And I don't mean this because Brasil is in the group. I am angry on behalf of each and every country - or better said, each and every person in those countries - that they have been packaged and labeled as a threat, and that none of them candirect the same action to the USA.

I also read that yesterday the Rio state government started to distribute flowers t shirts and jewleries to USA citizens arriving in Rio as a form of apologies...

Below the complete news in portuguese:

Turista americano receberá brindes em aeroporto do Rio
da Folha Online

Os passageiros desembarcados dos quatro vôos procedentes dos Estados Unidos receberão brindes nesta terça-feira (13) no aeroporto Internacional Antônio Carlos Jobim, no Rio.

A iniciativa é resultado de uma parceria da Secretaria Estadual de Turismo, Riotur e associações de hotéis e de agentes de viagem, com o objetivo de "compensar" os turistas americanos pelos transtornos causados pela exigência judicial de identificá-los. Recepcionistas da TurisRio entregarão aos turistas camisetas com a inscrição "Rio loves you", rosas e brindes da joalheria H. Stern e da Varig, segundo informações da Agência Brasil.

O desembargador Catão Alves, presidente do Tribunal Federal da 1ª Região, com sede em Brasília, aceitou pedido de liminar da Prefeitura do Rio para suspender a identificação obrigatória de americanos que chegam à cidade.

Entenda o "fichamento" dos turistas americanos no país
da Folha Online

Decisão do juiz federal Julier Sebastião da Silva, de Mato Grosso, obriga a identificação de todo o turista americano que entrar no país. Baseada no princípio da reciprocidade, a decisão foi adotada após ação movida pelo procurador da República José Pedro Taques e estabelece que o turista deve ser fotografado e ter as impressões digitais recolhidas.

Desde o último dia 5, todos os cidadãos brasileiros que viajarem para os Estados Unidos serão submetidos a sistema semelhante de identificação.

No Brasil, o "fichamento" entrou em vigor no dia 1º. Os americanos que desembarcaram no aeroporto de Cumbica, em Guarulhos (SP), foram os primeiros identificados.

O desembargador Catão Alves, presidente do Tribunal Federal da 1ª Região, com sede em Brasília, aceitou pedido da Prefeitura do Rio e concedeu liminar que suspende a identificação de americanos que chegam à cidade. A decisão vale apenas para o município do Rio, segundo o tribunal.

Filas

Os primeiros turistas que chegaram ao país após a medida, enfrentaram filas para a identificação. No aeroporto internacional do Rio, cerca de 300 turistas chegaram a enfrentar cerca de 7 horas de espera.

A Embaixada dos Estados Unidos no Brasil divulgou dia 5 comunicado em que "lamenta" a forma com que os cidadãos norte-americanos estão sendo tratados para entrar no Brasil.

A embaixada afirmou que os EUA não estão selecionando brasileiros de uma forma exclusiva em suas medidas de segurança, e sim dentro de um conjunto de 150 países para os quais é exigido o visto. Segundo a nota, o Brasil não está sendo discriminado. Diferentemente, a medida brasileira estaria discriminando apenas cidadãos norte-americanos.

A Embratur contabilizou suspensão de pacotes e de viagens para o país por causa da medida.

this came in in a WAY newsletter to me... most of you probably got it, but just in case, here it is.

(I realize they're calling for WAY members, but who knows...)

**

The next edition of WAY Forward is due to be published on February 12 2004 and we would appreciate it if our members would submit articles which can be published in the newsletter.

Articles can be about anything your organisation has been doing in the past few months to assist Young People. You may for example, have attended a conference, organized an event or held a workshop. As members of WAY we want to highlight your achievements and also share your good practice with our other members.

Your organisation may also be holding an event and you may want people to attend if this is the case we may also be able to publish information regarding the event which may be of assistance to you.

We would also like to receive any recent photos you may have of Young People involved with your organisation in some way that can also be published in the newsletter. Please note photos should be submitted with the names of people on them as well as a brief description of what is taking place in the image.

Finally is there an issue taking place that is affecting Young People in your respective country that you feel WAY Forward should raise the awareness of? If so please submit information that we can publish.

I trust that the above clarifies our position. Should you have any queries regarding WAY Forward or any other matter please contact myself on telephone number +6062869271 or via email at tariq@worldyassemblyofyouth.org.

I'm fine with the malay food. "I'm loving it"...
I'm fine with communication. Haven't been able to speak my first malay sentences yet, but everybody speak at least a little english.
I'm not fine with public transportation. But I'm moving to another place in a week or so.

This is what's not fine: cinema, the apple of my eyes. And I don't mean films, I mean cinema as in the whole experience of going to the cinema to watch a movie, which Maximo Cannevacci, a brazilian anthropologist, described as
being a 'urban anthropological' experience. The sitting in the dark, the rays of light comming off the projector, reflected by the screen and comming back to our eyes in as pictures in movement. Even the candies and maybe the company you have at your side.

My father always tells me the story of a journalist colleague of his a long time ago. He was blind. But on sundays he got to the cinema, bought tickets worth the whole day of sessions and just sat there.

So, little pieces of my first cinema experience in Malaysia.

I am happy that the english language films are shown in original version here. I am happy they have good theatres with fist class sound and seats (though lacking mor arty and independent productions). I am not happy with the candy counter:

SO I go to a posh mall (easy to get to) buy my ticket and get really excited over the possibility of eating popcorn. Hooray!

ME (to the candy counter lady): Can I have a regular- size popcorn and a diet coke please.
CANDY COUNTER LADY (from now on referred simply as CCL): Sweet popcorn or caramel popcorn?
ME: Ahm... Savoury popcorn?
CCL: What?
ME: Salt popcorn!
CCL: We only have Sweet popcorn or caramel popcorn.
ME: Fine, give me one sweet popcorn and one coke light.
CCL: We don't have coke light.
ME: What diet soda do you have
CCL: None.
ME sigh...

later on, in the theatre

ME (thinking to myself) great! this is almost empty. no more than ten people inside, I can choose whatever seat I want!

So, as usual, I go for the middle seat in the fifth row.
The film is about to start. A couple entes the theatre.
The couple goes to my direction. THey look at their ticket, they look at me, they look at their ticket, they look at me...

MAN: sorry, the seats 9 and 10 are ours, look (ponting me to their ticket)
ME: wow, marked seats in the cinema???? all right.

I give them their seats. I look at my ticket, my seat is in one of the back rows, by the theatre side edge. Ewww. I hate seating in the back, and I hate sitting in the corner. It ruins everything.

SO I go for the middle seat again, but in the fourth row...

Then a couple enters the theatre. They come in my direction. They look at me, then they look at their tickets, they they come closer, then they look at me, then they look at the tickets, they they look at me then they say...

***

bits of malaysia

Jiwang is a malay word, actually it's not a proper dictionary word but a slang, that means the state of 'walking over the clouds'. I like that they have this one word to describe such a complex - and wonderful - state of mind and spirit.

It's like with portuguese and the word 'saudade' which means the feeling of missing someone or something and portuguese is the only language in which there's a noun to describe it.

Oh and yes, I know. I should be learning proper malay before the slangs.

***

I was browsing through this malay women's magazine, that I don't actually remember the name, but it's alledgelly the largest women magazine in malaysia. I am not too much of a feminist so I won't say it pisses me off, but there was this piece on what the editor wanted for new year. one of the phrases said something like 'I could say I wish for world peace on the next year but who am I kidding, what I really want is a effective way to stop aging'

oh my god.

then there was this other very large piece on Husband Chasing, and it went on and on about how times have changed and women actually want marriage. Then there was this one page box on how to become proper marriage matherial, with tips such as 'cook because what men really want is to be fed by his woman', 'look really good to attract men' and so on.

Am I the only one thinking this is way too absurd???

It is funny because I've come here with this who pre conception, due to muslim and chinese cultures, that culture would be so opressive with women, then I see loads of women working - from waitressing jobs to proper office jobs - and everything and then I come accross with this magazine dressed up as women's voice media and with such old oppinions. I got really shocked.

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